Agenda item

The Cabinet Member for Housing presented a report on proposals to procure contracts for the provision of emergency homelessness accommodation.

The Cabinet Member explained that since 2010, when there were significant changes to the housing market in east London and new housing benefit legislation came into effect, available rented accommodation in the Borough was consistently taken up by other London Boroughs taking advantage of the comparative low rental levels.  As a result of the reduced availability of accommodation coupled with a significant increase in the number of homeless cases, the Council became increasingly dependent on spot purchasing of emergency accommodation to fulfil its statutory duties.  The Cabinet Member referred to the significant increase in the number of placements in B&B accommodation between 2010 and 2012, which resulted in expenditure of £4.25m in 2012/13.  A range of initiatives had been implemented by the Council to address supply and demand issues, including the conversion of the former Brockelbank and Riverside House residential homes as high quality hostel accommodation, and the current proposal to procure long-term contracts for emergency homelessness accommodation was a further step forward.

With regard to the number of private rented properties in Barking and Dagenham taken up by other London Boroughs, the Director of Housing advised that officers were collaborating with all but one of the 32 London Boroughs to ensure that there was a balanced approach across all Boroughs.  The Leader asked to be provided with the details of the one Borough not participating in the project.

The Cabinet Member for Finance suggested that the procurement proposals would drive down costs as the Council would no longer be reliant on the single B&B accommodation provider in the Borough.  He also commented that the position of Barking and Dagenham as having the lowest Council and private accommodation rents had not only led to other Boroughs taking advantage but had cost the Council a significant amount of money.

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care commented that he would wish to see details of the minimum standards within the contract specification as well as other comparative information.

Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Waive the requirement to tender interim contracts for the provision of spot purchase of Bed and Breakfast and other nightly let temporary accommodation in order to ensure the Council fulfils its statutory housing duties, pending a procured contract being implemented;

(ii)  Approve the proposals for the procurement of a contract for emergency homelessness accommodation for a term of up to four years, with the option to extend for one year, in accordance with the strategy as set out in the report;

(iii)  Delegate authority to the Director of Housing, in consultation with the Chief Finance Officer and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, to approve the entering into of contract(s) for a term of up to four years, with the option to extend for one year, upon conclusion of the procurement exercise; and

(iv)  Request officers to provide Cabinet Members with details of the minimum standard requirements that tenderers would be required to meet under the specification for the contract.